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REMBRANDT PEALE (1778-1860) American painter of portraits and historical scenes; well known for h...

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:2,500.00 - 3,500.00 USD
REMBRANDT PEALE (1778-1860) American painter of portraits and historical scenes; well known for h...
REMBRANDT PEALE (1778-1860) American painter of portraits and historical scenes; well known for his portrait of George Washington from life (1795). ALS, "Rem: Peale", 3pp, July 8, 1808, Paris, a charming letter to his wife. In small part, "...I was in Paris two weeks before I could find a convenient Room to paint in...altho' this enormous City furnishes matter for amusement continually...every day my relish for it diminished, as I recollected that I was only an idler in the Streets & that I had a family across the Ocean...I have begun the Portraits of Gen: Armstrong, Mr Curier, Mr Hondon and Mr Denon, which I mean to put in the Exhibition (in Sept)...you would be pleased with Paris...such an everlasting succession of odd figures, from the ugliest of god almighty's permission to the noblest...Charcoal men, like the Coalmen of London; Red faced fishwomen...Carts drawn by Dogs...Jugglers...lecturers on Philosophy in the Streets...I have some times laughed out...Noble Palaces, spacious gardens & Public Galleries! besides a multitude of Pleasure Gardens always open, forming the most romantic variety...the Ladies, excepting that class whose nakedness is a Sign for Customers, dress with as much modesty as ours...all you have heard of strange behavior by Ladies in the streets is completely false...Sunday previous I spent at Versailles in the Gallery of French Painters - It is impossible to describe the immensity & Splendor...I must confess, my dear Eleanor, that it requires all my Philosophy to bear this separation & to be able to profit by any of my observations - my mind is racked with the most perplexing reflections...I almost condemn myself for permitting my mind to wonder..." Professional repair to seal tear. General soiling, o/w VG. Silked for preservation. Boldly penned and easily read. An excellent letter. $2,500-3,500